We also learned about the first Thanksgiving. Listen to my kids tell the story - they did such a great job!

We also had a few brushes with fame. First, there was a local news article about how we use Class Dojo in our classroom. The kids were soooo excited to see themselves in the paper (even if it was just their name on the Class Dojo screen!)

We were also featured on GoNoodle's first kid led brain break! You should've heard the shouts when the kids noticed themselves in the video. I thought the principal was going to come running into our room for sure!

Thursday, November 13, 2014

I’ve been nominated by Mica at The
Positively Polka Dotted Teacher for the Liebster Award.

You may find yourself asking, “What
the heck is the Liebster Award?”I know
I was!It’s pretty simple.When a person is nominated for the Liebster
Award, first they answer a few questions about themselves.Afterwards, they nominate 11additional bloggers with fewer than 200
followers for the award.Basically it’s
like a chain award.It helps new
bloggers become acquainted with the blogging world.Anyway, here are my answers to the 11
questions:

1.Why
and how long ago did you start blogging?

I’ve been a fan of teaching blogs since the beginning of my teaching
career.Blogs allow the global teaching
community to connect and share.I love
reading what teachers across the country, or even the world, are doing with
their students.While reading, I always
find inspiration and ideas for my own classroom.

I started blogging in June because I wanted to become a full-fledged
member of the blogging community.I
didn’t want to take other people’s ideas without contributing some of my own.

2.What
one word sums up the heart of your blog and why?

Hmmm…. That’s a tough one!I’m
going to go with engaged.

Not only does Glamour and Glue Sticks help me stay engaged with the
blogging community, but it also helps me stay engaged with my students.When I write posts, I have time to reflect on
lessons and other things that happen in my classroom.I am able to think about what works best for
students and what needs some tweaking.

Also, I like to post about lessons that kept my students engaged.

Engaged seems to cover every
aspect.

3.Is
there something you learned late in your blog journey you wished you knew
before?

I’ve learned that it’s okay if
every post isn’t perfect.I suppose I’ve
always known this, but putting it into practice is hard work!I like to upload lots of pictures, add lots
of detail, and edit, edit, edit.

I’m trying to come to terms with
writing shorter posts with fewer pictures.Otherwise, blogging takes up too much time, I get overwhelmed, and then
I give up (as I have the past month or two!)

4.What
is your favorite pass time other than blogging?

Traveling is my favorite pass
time.I enjoy all sorts of travel: long
trips, short trips, trips to far away places, trips in planes, road trips… I
like pretty much any and all sorts of adventures.My boyfriend blogs about these travel
adventures at adventurejohn.com.You should
check it out!This December we’ll be
exploring several countries in the Caribbean: Antigua, St. Lucia, Dominica, and
St. Vincent.I can’t wait!

Here we are at Disney World.

5.How
many hours per week do you dedicate to your blog?

Lately, I’m sad to say, it’s been 0.However, at my peak I suppose I was dedicating four or five hours a
week.It takes a lot of time writing
posts, adding pictures, and editing.Not
to mention the time spent reading everyone else’s blogs!

Hopefully, this post will inspire me to get back into the swing of
blogging!

6.What
category of blog posts do you enjoy the most?

I like to read posts about organization tips/tricks.

7.Where
does your blog inspiration come from?

My inspiration comes from fellow bloggers, and not only teacher bloggers,
but also my dad and boyfriend.

My dad was one of the first to join the blogging community way back in
2004.His blog, legalunderground.com,
made quite a stir in the blawgosphere community.

Also, as I’ve already mentioned, my boyfriend has a blog where he posts
about his travel experiences.It’s so
fun to go back and read about our adventures!I think it’ll be almost as fun to go back and read about my experiences
in the classroom.

9.Is
there any post you’ve been planning to do but have been postponing?

I’m planning to create a package
of resources to use with the kindergarten Envisions math curriculum.This is my first year using the Envisions
curriculum, and I’m finding myself creating lots of extra pieces to help my
students.For example, I create a Smart
Board presentation to go with each lesson.I’ve also created take-home and Smart Board reviews for each unit.I’m hoping to organize these and publish them
on TPT.When that happens, I’ll of
course have to write a post about it.

10.What
is your favorite aspect of blogging?

Sharing ideas, tips, and tricks
with other teachers.

11.Which
recipe, project, or idea on my blog would you most likely try yourself?

We've been doing all things apple for the past few weeks. My favorite activity was making Johnny Appleseed inspired self-portraits. I snagged the idea from Mrs. Maya's Kindergarten.

You're probably asking yourself, "Why does this kid have whiskers?" Your guess is as good as mine. I thought it was pretty hilarious.

It worked out perfectly because our sight words this week are I and am.

This week we (finally!) started our normal Daily 5 routine. My kids have worked hard the past few weeks practicing each component of the Daily 5. They can now Read to Self, Work on Writing, Listen to Reading, and Read to Someone for twelve minutes. (I will not introduce Word Work for a few more weeks.) The progress they've made in just the past couple of weeks is tremendous. They've all learned to tell stories based on pictures, and several kiddos have started reading the words. I'm one proud teacher!

I love their smiles!

The kids earned "super special star glasses" when we reached 6 minutes of reading stamina. They love them!

Daily 5 is my absolute favorite part of the day. I love looking out and seeing my kiddos immersed in reading and writing.

We use Reading Street curriculum to guide our Language Arts curriculum. Honestly I think it's a bit all over the place, but I'm making it work! We played quite a few partner games this week to help solidify some of the skills.

The kids practiced rhyming by matching images of rhyming words. This was also a great opportunity for some of my ELL kids to learn new vocabulary words. (Snail for example.)

We also played a syllable game. One student flips over a card and counts the number of syllables in the image shown. They then move that number of spaces. Easy peasey lemon squeezey.

See the counting happening?

Games make everyone happening!

We also had fun with some fall-themed math stations. I was so busy working with small groups that I didn't have a chance to take pictures, but check them out on TPT. Two are FREEBIES! I promise they're lots of fun!

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Listening: I suppose I brought this upon my myself. I surprised my boyfriend with an Xbox One as a housewarming gift when we moved in June. Luckily, he later invested in some excellent headphones, so I only have to listen to things being blown up some of the time :)

Loving: My new class is awesome! They are full of energy and enthusiasm. And they get along with each other so, so well! (I hope I didn't just jinx it!)

Thinking: I absolutely, positively love my job , but it's still nice to have fun things to look forward to on the weekends.

Wanting: I need time to blog, workout, relax, read, etc. How am I supposed to fit it all in?

Needing: So my Target sandals have finally bit the dust. It's too late in the season to buy another pair of sandals, so I need a pair of shoes that will transition nicely into cooler weather.

I ordered these Toms yesterday, but I'm not completely sold. Any other suggestions?

3 Trips: If you haven't picked up on this yet, trips are my thing! I'm all about trips! In Morocco I want to ride a camel through the desert, in Turkey I want to visit the Grand Bazaar, and in Kenya I want to take an African Safari!

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

With the start of a new school year comes several "must read" books. One of these is First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg.

The book begins on the morning of the first day of school. Mr. Hartwell argues with Sarah about getting out of bed. Sarah complains that she is scared to start a new school and wants to stay in bed all day.

Sarah hides under the covers, claiming a stomachache, and refuses to come downstairs for breakfast. Mr. Hartwell doesn't know what to do.

Eventually he coaxes Sarah downstairs and into the car. Sarah continues to worry as they approach the school. The principal meets Sarah at the door and shows her to her new classroom. Upon arriving she finds a big group of students waiting for her.

And here comes the big surprise... Sarah is the teacher!

My kiddos always get a big kick out of the surprise ending. One of my sweet boys said, "What?! Teachers don't get scared!" He just couldn't believe it.

After reading the book we do several fun activities from Babbling Abby's Crazy for Kinders pack.

Of course we drink Jitter Juice! I simplify the original recipe and just use two ingredients: Sprite and sprinkles. I put a Jitter Juice label on a bottle of Sprite and pour it into the students' cups. I tell them that the magic ingredient is sprinkles. I walk around and add sprinkles to every cup. They love watching as the sprinkles dissolve and the Sprite turns a multitude of colors. It really does seem like magic!

I also have the students decorate a poem about Jitter Juice. The take the poem home and share it with their parents.

If you want to add a math component, some teachers have their students create a graph showing how many students liked Jitter Juice and how many didn't.

This is a great book for discussing those first day jitters!

If you don't have a copy of the book, you can find it for free on Youtube!

What books do you like to share during the first weeks of school?

I'd love for you to leave a comment and follow me through Google or Bloglovin'!